Ayscoughfee Hall, Spalding, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

Richard Aldwyn built Ayscoughfee Hall in the 1420s, possibly including parts of an earlier building (Glenn and Taylor 1999). The property passed through several hands before John Johnston bought the Hall in the mid-17th century and it was his granddaughter and her husband, Maurice Johnston, who were responsible for laying out gardens in the 1730s. The design is attributed to William Sands (Pevsner et al 1989) and appears on the John Grundy map of 1732. Maurice's son, also Maurice (1688-1755), inherited Ayscoughfee Hall in 1747 and his son, Colonel Maurice Johnston, to whom it passed in 1775, made various alterations to the Hall in 1772. When Colonel Johnson died his son, the Rev Maurice Johnston, incumbent of Spalding parish church, inherited the property and made significant alterations to the Hall and the grounds in 1794. The Rev Maurice's grandson, also Maurice, succeeded to the estate in 1834 and commissioned William Todd to further alter the Hall before moving away in 1851 and letting the property. Maurice's widow, Isabella Mary Johnson sold the Hall and grounds to a committee of Spalding citizens in 1898 and they were presented to Spalding Urban Council in 1902 to celebrate the coronation of Edward VII. The grounds were opened as a public park, while from 1915 to 1920 the War Office took over the Hall; after that part of it was used by Ayscoughfee School between 1920 and 1982, and part used as a free public library. In 1974 ownership passed to South Holland District Council and in 1987 the Hall opened as a museum. The grounds remain (2000) in public ownership.